I feel like I’m not really posting as much as I have in the past and I am trying to figure out why.  Part of it is that we are in a pretty major transition around here, Mr. Taylor is traveling a crazy amount lately, and we are trying to get our heads around it all.  It promises to be exciting and wonderful but right now, it is just a bit like living in limbo.

I am trying to be okay with limbo, and it is a growing experience for me I think.  I have spent a lot of time reassessing my priorities, how I spend my time and where I want to go from here.  I have found that I am drawn lately to staying close to home and close to family.  I am also dreaming of traveling far and wide- quite the opposites, no?  I feel like right now my drive to “accomplish” to “be seen” to “go somewhere” has diminished and my desire to live in this moment right here, fully embrace the life right in front of me and make the most of it is at the top of my priority list.  I am looking forward to summer on the farm with those I love doing the things I love.  I have spent more time than I normally do in the gardens this spring, staying on top of the planting and the weeding and the maintenance and looking forward to my Dad’s visit a week from today, planning projects to work on with him.  Where I once got excited about “working” on my photography I am now excited about simply documenting our wonderful simple life with my camera.  Life is filled with unexpected and amazing changes, don’t you think?

I thought I would share a bit of what we have been doing this spring.

 

 

The hummingbirds have returned and I never tire of seeing them visit the feeder throughout the day.  They seem to visit often while we are eating dinner and I’m sure the boys have already tired of finding me gazing out the window over the dining table during our meal…  I believe our hummingbirds are Rufus hummingbirds and it seems we have three- one male and two females.

 

 

{the hive sits in the upper pasture by the blackberries}

 

We have also added a bee hive to the farm this spring!  Bees are something I have wanted to add for quite some time, but was nervous about not knowing what I was doing, thus killing the bees.  I took the plunge after seeing a few fabulous friends doing it and knowing that I have endless resources if I need help.  I worked with the Beez Neez in Snohomish, WA and honestly they have been absolutely wonderful.  They are so helpful and there whenever I have a question.  I am surprised at how comfortable I am with the girls and how much I love just watching them come and go.

 

{I waxed the frames before putting them in the hive}

 

{the girls seem happy here}

 

{yes, I look a bit silly, but feel much safer- I like my eyes just as they are}

 

I also want to share a recipe with you- although calling it a recipe really doesn’t seem right, seeing that it was really just a throwing of things I had on-hand into a pot and slow cooking it for the day.  That being said, it was really good and the boys loved it- so that should count for something, right?

 

The following is what I did- you can alter it to whatever you have on hand.  While I don’t always have fresh tomatoes, I always have canned so those would work as well.

 

5-6 vine ripened tomatoes, coarsely  chopped

5 cloves of garlic, diced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

 

Put it all in a pot and simmer for the afternoon.

 

I fire-roasted a yellow and a red pepper on the stove (see this post) and then chopped them up and added them to the tomato mix.

 

If you want to add meat, which I did:

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb.  ground beef

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp dried basil

1 Tbsp dried thyme

1 tsp garlic salt

salt and pepper

An hour before you want to serve it, brown one chopped onion with 1 lb ground beef.  When the beef is partially cooked, add the spices and mix well.  Finish browning the beef and then add it all to the simmering sauce.

 

Cook your pasta just before you want to eat, toss it together with your sauce, top with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve!  We add a salad and a baguette and call it dinner~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week on the farm I am feeling like I have died and gone to heaven. It truly is spectacular- the weather is absolutely stunning! The gardens are beginning to really bloom and it smells amazing all day long.  I have been planting seeds (lima beans for the first time, peas, beans, radishes, tomatoes) and filling pots and barrels with color. I have added three new clematises- two different varieties and I am crossing everything that they are happy and thrive (because my track record in this arena is not a winning one…). There are buds everywhere- on the climbing rose on the chicken coop, the espalier asian pear tree, the grape vines and the peonies. Meanwhile the lilacs are in FULL BLOOM- and they are my very favorite spring flower. They are GORGEOUS this year and I am loving cutting baskets full and bringing them indoors. They have grown so much since last year and are filled with huge bunches of flowers.  We have a number of different varieties and I love each and every one.  The herb garden is coming along nicely with all of the older plants and new editions. I grow oregano, chives, thyme, mint, french tarragon, parsley, cilantro, rosemary and strawberries in the herb garden, as well as poppies, peonies, fairy roses and cosmos. That is one garden that really shines in the summertime. I have been pruning things that tend to get unruly this time of year and weeding in an attempt (most likely futile) to stay on top of the barrage of weeds that tend to be present come July.

One thing that I have been doing more of lately is stopping (even when I don’t want to) to sit in the gardens and enjoy something to eat and/or drink. I tend to eat lunch outdoors and I have been making sun tea to enjoy while I am outside as well. I have also been playing with simple syrups and right now I am absolutely loving rhubarb syrup! The rhubarb is still doing really well and I want to take advantage of it while it is here.

I would like to say that the one downfall to this glorious weather and productivity in the gardens is that I feel like I am completely and utterly neglecting those that I love but tend to communicate with online. I simply don’t spend much time at all on the computer, thus find that days go by before I realize I have talked to NO ONE outside of my family. I honestly feel badly about this and hope and pray that those dear friends whom I have not talked to for far too long will forgive me in my absence. I am secretly hoping they are as busy as I have been and haven’t even noticed!

Happy week mes amies.
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Not long ago I reconnected with a friend from high school.  Facebook has a way of making that happen.  It just so happens that this friend is incredibly talented and makes THE. BEST. SIGNS.  ever.  Our arrived yesterday and I can’t begin to tell you how much I love it.  Now only do I love the look and feel of it, but I adore what it says.  It really does define how life is lived here on the farm.

 

If you have a saying that you love and want to display in your own home, visit Janie at her shop- blue eyed girl.

 

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